haunted house
by not a straight trumpet
Summary: Kumiko and some friends enter a spooky place.


**a/n:** been a while huh? that's because i have been combatting writer's block and also contending with schoolwork. fun! but anyway i had to put out a kumirei halloween fic, hope y'all enjoy!

* * *

Kumiko Oumae was not a person who sought out thrills.

There was a deeper meaning to that, certainly, some detail about her character one could probe at like an experiment until it produced a key piece in the puzzle that was her personality, but right now it was very literal. Right now, she was standing at the foot of a fake house covered in fake cobwebs with her four closest friends while two of them trembled in very real fear. Reina was unreadable as always, Natsuki looked the house up and down with her trademark smirk, and Kumiko just stared.

"I knew a girl who worked here once," Natsuki, clad in full cowboy getup once again, said, mainly to break the silence. Midori, dressed as a bumblebee, continued to shake. "We hooked up in the room where the ax murderer comes out and tries to kill ya."

"That's great, Natsuki," Kumiko muttered, tugging at her long, grayish coat.

"You didn't get kicked out?" Hazuki tilted her head inquisitively, and in the process the giant inflatable donut hanging from her frame slid down a bit. Natsuki's borrowed basketball jersey was too big for her, but she didn't seem to mind. Natsuki shook her head.

"Nah. Worse things've happened here."

"Worse things . . . you don't mean people have _died_ in here, Natsuki-senpai?" Midori squeaked. Her antennae bounced up as she shook.

"We should just go inside." Reina cut through the silence, her head poking out of a massive cardboard blue box. "It's getting cold out here."

"O-okay." Kumiko took a deep breath, took Reina's hand, and headed through the double doors.

* * *

It was tame enough at first - powdery fake cobwebs, comically giant spiders with flash-bulb eyes, but Kumiko was still on edge. There was something coming, she thought, there had to be. Lull them into a false sense of security, then right when they least expected it a zombie or werewolf or vampire would jump out from behind a wall, screeching.

"H-hey, Reina?" she whispered, preparing to nudge her with an elbow before remembering the current boxed state of the girl beside her. "Have you, uh, been to one of these before?"

"I've been _in_ one," she said, and Kumiko suddenly remembered Shuichi and a flashlight and her knight in stage makeup saving the day from what would have certainly been a most uncomfortable conversation.

"Oh. Yeah. Right." She paused. A distant recording played a witch's raspy laughter. Hazuki clung not-so-subtly to Natsuki's arm. "I never thanked you for that, did I?"

"What was there to thank me for? I signed up to be the one who lurked in wait, I did what I was supposed to do."

"Things were . . . getting awkward, a-and I dunno if I would've been able to get out of the situation in time if he'd started asking me personal questions, y'know? If he'd started-"

"I think I understand." Reina surged forward a bit, which might have looked more dignified had it not been for the blue cardboard surrounding her on all sides. Her cap went off-kilter, and Kumiko straightened it, trying not to blush profusely. She figured Reina wouldn't be able to see it, anyhow. The lights were starting to dim as the quintet traveled further down the hallways with their strategically-peeled wallpaper, and the inevitability of a jumpscare settled deep in Kumiko's bones.

"Why couldn't we have just stayed home and passed out candy to kids?" Midori whimpered, hanging off of Hazuki's arm as Hazuki did the same to Natsuki, making the three of them look like the world's weirdest human chain.

"I needed you as my gay wing-girl because Kumiko-chan was busy with Kousaka-san," Hazuki whisper-shouted. Natsuki smirked, tipping her cowboy hat.

 _Dorks,_ Kumiko thought, fond. Her fears eased just a little bit. It was just a silly haunted house, that was all, and with her friends (and her _girlfriend)_ what was there to be scared of? No, she would be quite alright. She was perfectly-

 _"I shall curse you!"_ A figure jumped out in front of the group, pointy hat jutting upwards, hands dangling in the air, glasses sharply tinted, and _oh._

"Asuka-senpai?!" Kumiko yelped. Asuka let her arms fall to her sides and grinned. Midori fainted.

"In the flesh, little Oumae."

"W-why are you here?"

"Eh, you know. It helps pay the bills." Asuka leaned up against a wall like she was preparing for a photoshoot. "Besides, I get to terrify little kids. What's more fun than that?"

"A lot of things," Natsuki muttered, and Reina nodded at her in agreement. Hazuki, agape, continued to hold onto Natsuki's arm - no longer out of fear, Kumiko thought, but mostly just because she wanted to. The donut had deflated.

"Anyway, what brings you lot to my neck of the woods, metaphorically speaking?"

"We just, uh, we just wanted to go and do something different for Halloween this year."

"Hmm, hmm, I get that." Asuka, with great deliberation, planted her witch hat on Kumiko's head. "There we go. Now you have to come back, alright?" It was dark, the hallway was crowded, and everyone in the group was dealing with some mix of fear and disbelief, so Kumiko might not have been in her best state of mind, but she could have sworn she saw Asuka's smile turn into something sadder.

"I will," Kumiko said, and the group kept walking.

* * *

"That wasn't too bad," Natsuki sighed as the exit sign flashed neon. "What were ya scared of, anyway?"

"A lot," Midori quietly admitted.

"Being too freaked out," Hazuki added.

"Asuka-senpai," Reina offered. Kumiko shrugged helplessly.

"Alright, well, I'd say it was a good one. You all had a good time, didn't ya?" A chorus of reluctant _yeahs_ echoed around the little cluster. Natsuki pushed open the door, leading to the marshy field below. "Why don't we do something else next year?"

"I think this was, uh, just fine," Kumiko mumbled, hovering at the door's edge. "I had you guys. That's what m-matters, right?" Natsuki smacked her shoulder, sending her toppling forwards before she regained her balance. It was a wonder this coat had survived the night.

"Go on, ya nerds. All of this cute talk is gonna ruin the creepy vibe."

"Thanks, Natsuki," Kumiko said, and looking at this little group around her - a bumblebee, a Western sheriff, a blue box, whatever Hazuki was, and herself - she thought no monster would stand a chance against them.

* * *

 **a/n:** anyone here play deltarune yet? that was wild. anyway if you guess everyone's costumes you Win


End file.
